The death toll from a fire that swept through a hospital coronavirus ward in Iraq has climbed to at least 92, the Iraqi state news agency reported on Tuesday.
The blaze that erupted Monday in the city of Nasiriyah was the second catastrophic fire in less than three months to kill hospitalized Covid-19 patients in Iraq, where the health care system has been crippled by decades of war and sanctions.
Two health officials said more than 100 people were also injured in the fire that torched the coronavirus ward of al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in the city of Nasiriyah on Monday.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi chaired an emergency meeting in the wake of the fire and ordered the suspension and arrest of the health director in Dhi Qar, as well as the director of the hospital and the city’s director of civil defense. A government investigation was also launched.
Source: Websites
